A16: The new sound of silence

The walls of A16 have been covered with sound reducing panels. Craig Lee/The San Francisco Chronicle 2008

Noise in restaurants can come in several forms, as illustrated by my post last week about excessively loud diners. Yet, readers are constantly emailing me about the increasingly high decibel levels at new restaurants. Still, there are some improvements. Last week I went to A16 and was struck by what was lacking — the insane noise level.

Last fall the restaurant closed for a brief remodel which included adding an upholstered banquet and more sound-baffling panels to the walls. The restaurant still has a lively buzz, but instead of the bomb rating, which meant you basically had to scream across the table to be heard, it’s a more manageable three bells. You may have to raise your voice a little, but you’re far from screaming. Soundproofing panels don’t squelch all the noise, obviously, but they do seem to tame those particularly high notes that make things seem louder. To me, that’s the sweet zone. No one would say it’s quiet, but only the most sensitive would be clutching their ears as they exit.

A few restaurants have heard the complaints: Redd closed for a few weeks a couple of years ago and added sound baffling that muted the noise. Nopa also added some panels around the mezzanine, although the restaurant is still very loud.

However, these are still the exceptions. When I was at Leopold’s a couple weeks ago, the Austrian inspired restaurant that took over the Antica space on Polk Street, my ears were literally ringing when I left, but the diners who were chugging the two-liter pints of brew didn’t seem to mind. I’d say most restaurants I review these days get the bomb or a four bell rating.

In last week’s blog, some commenters suggested that nothing would be done until I dinged a restaurant’s stars because of noise. I won’t do that. We give the noise rating as information that diners can use in making their decisions. Noise levels are more offensive to some people than others, and it’s up to each individual to choose whether to go or not. In addition, many restaurants have areas that are noisier or quieter, so the noise levels can depend on where you sit. So while I’m not going to penalize a restaurant by lowering their ambience stars due to noise, I will continue to point out when they are absurdly loud.

The only way to turn down the volume is if diners complain and let owners know they won’t patronize their restaurant because of the noise. From what I’ve experienced, a noisy restaurant doesn’t seem to keep that many people away.

However, I’m curious: What restaurants have you seen that have actually done something about the noise problem?